Swiss gold open faced automaton watch The Kitchen Circa 1820

Unsigned gold and enamel watch with automaton 
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A rare Swiss gold and enamel watch with automaton depicting a kitchen scene, attributed to Pierre-Simon Gounouilhou, Geneva, circa 1820. This watch features a gilded full plate movement with a verge escapement, cylindrical pillars, and a fusee and chain. The automaton is powered by a separate spring barrel and train, utilising cams and levers for operation. The time dial is made of white enamel with Arabic numerals, an outer minute ring, and separate apertures for winding the going and automaton trains.
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The gold case showcases a polychrome enamel painted harbour scene inspired by Claude-Joseph Vernet (1714–1799). It depicts three sailing ships, a fishing boat with two fishermen, and a lady standing on the shore. To the left, a man with a fishing rod and a lady are present, with classical buildings to the right and mountains in the distance. The champlevé enamel border and pearl set front bezel add to the watch’s elegance. A lever at 5 o’clock operates the automaton scene, while a regulation arm is located between 2 and 3 o’clock. The back opens to reveal a polychrome enamel painted and varicoloured gold automaton kitchen scene. Here, a seated lady spins yarn, moving her left arm and leg to operate a spinning wheel. Two chickens roast on a spit in front of the fire, powered by a dog running inside a wheel. To the right, water flows from a fountain, with a varicoloured gold scene below showing a child sitting next to the fountain and a dog playing with a cat by a basket of vegetables.
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Diameter: 60 mm
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Signed: No name
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There is a small chip in the enamel scene on the reverse at the 3 o’clock position. Minor enamel losses are present around the band. The pearls on the front are intact and in good condition. There is a small tear on the inside edge of the case back. The dial has very tiny chips around the winding apertures. The watch mechanism ticks when wound.
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A small number of watches with kitchen scene automata are known, the majority are doublefaced, with the automata scenes immediately visible to the case back. The present watch is a rare example, with a finely polychrome enamel painted cover to the back that conceals the automaton from view. Similar kitchen scenes can be found on a watch signed by Pierre-Simon Gounouilhou, Geneva, the latter illustrated in E. Jaquet, A Chapuis, Technique and History of the Swiss Watch, 1970, plate 96. Pierre-Simon Gounouilhou (1779–1847) settled in Geneva in 1799 and quickly established a reputation as an inventive and talented maker of watches, automata, and musical boxes. For watches with similar kitchen scenes, see: Sotheby’s Geneva, 15 May 2011, lot 57; Sotheby’s Geneva, Masterworks of Time Part II, 11 November 2019, lot 43; E. Jaquet & A. Chapuis, Technique and History of the Swiss Watch, 1970, pl. 96; and the Patek Philippe Museum inv. S-962, the latter illustrated in P. Friess, Patek Philippe Museum: The Emergence of the Portable Timepiece, Vol. IV, p. 37.